We All Got Bruises
by darkh0rse
Summary: She's standing in the middle of the room with her Summer Society t-shirt on, her freshly-washed hair spilling out over her shoulders and I wonder how I could have ever lashed out at this girl so much - Laura/Danny - Hollence one-shot - post ep 1x24


I think I've been staring at the door for a solid five minutes. I think I've traced every vine in the polished wood whilst finding the courage to actually put my hand it and knock. People who walked by must've thought I'm losing it and I would probably believe them, too.

There's been a few times where I thought I could hear a stifled sob from behind the wood and my heart felt like it was caught in a vice.

Squaring my shoulders, I scrape together all of my courage, take a giant gulp of air and knock on the door three times. Then I remember that Danny's roommate would always knock just once before storming in and the nerves rush through my veins when I realize I immediately gave away that it's me.

"It's open."

"Well," I murmur under my breath, hand tentatively curling around the copper door handle, "Here goes nothing, I guess."

The door creaks open. I breathe in Danny's familiar smell as soon as I walk across the threshold and regret washes over me and I consider running off.

But then I see her.

She's standing in the middle of the room with her Summer Society t-shirt on, her freshly-washed hair spilling out over her shoulders and I wonder how I could have ever lashed out at this girl so much. I'm pretty sure she can read it in my eyes because hers emit a guilt that's equal to what I feel.

I look at her and she takes me back to the first time I met her – to the first time she stood in my room, in my presence, with the same wild hair and soft eyes.

I remember how her deep voice echoed within me as we talked, how I stumbled over my words like a high-schooler talking to her crush. I remember the frantic beating of my heart when she looked into my eyes with a lopsided grin on her lips and how I couldn't stop smiling after she'd left.

If only this were the first time I met her but it isn't. The tension in the room is palpable and I clench my jaw.

My eyes flit down to the redhead's neck and my breath hitches in my throat. Blue, almost purple prints grace the white skin like a blotched painting and my heart drops, vision blurring over with tears when I see small, dark, crescent-shaped bruises where Carmilla's nails had dug into the flesh.

Danny simply looks up to me like a lost child with a look on her face that makes me want to hold her and never let go.

She walks over to the bed and sits down, patting the space next to her. Her lip quivers but she gives a half-hearted smile as I comply to sit next to her.

The stillness that drops over us like a blanket is uncomfortable and for one of the rare moments in my life I am unable to speak. My throat feels like sandpaper and I cannot find the words I want to say. Danny's presence grows heavier by the second and I know she's struggling with the same issue.

I swallow hard a couple of times, mentally reprimanding myself for the amazingly idiotic stoicism I'm demonstrating.

"I'm sorry," I finally squeak, folding my hands in my lap because I don't know where else to hold them. I take a shaky breath, not daring to let my eyes search for Danny's so I just stare at the carpet, at my shoes, at the books that lay stacked on the floor while my heart is ever so slowly trying to break my ribs.

Danny's voice is raw and hoarse when she speaks up, "Yeah. Me too."

The crack at the end of her sentence breaks my heart and I bite my lip. Involuntarily I turn my head to see Danny had been gazing at me the entire time.

As if on cue, her arms wrap around me as soon as my composed expression breaks. I melt into her embrace and mutter a thousand kind of apologies into her hair as she holds me, guiding me to lay down onto the bed. This isn't some easy mistake, a stupid misunderstanding that I can fix. I hurt Danny and I hurt her hard.

Okay, maybe it was Carmilla that _physically _hurt her, but Danny's never been the one to mind a couple bruises and I think I did a lot more damage than the vampire did.

To make matters worse, Danny Lawrence always acted tough which makes it harder for me to truly find out how she feels.

Her arms that are around me loosen just enough for me to wriggle my way up to look her in the eyes. I gently cup her face in my hands and she's warm like she's always been and it sets my heart fluttering. I gaze into her bright eyes that burn right through me and I see the flames that roar behind them.

"I'm so sorry, Danny," I whisper, all the words finally stumbling from my lips. My thumb strokes her cheek, "I shouldn't have said that I didn't want someone protecting me. I mean, I don't. I want to be my own hero too, you know? But all of that doesn't mean that I don't want you."

The redhead sighs softly as if out of relief, "You shouldn't really be the one apologising. I should've known that you, being the enthusiastic girl that nearly resembles a force of nature sometimes, wants to protect herself. I just – didn't see it because I'd do anything for you not to get hurt. Including taking your rights to do all of that yourself."

"And I apologise for that," she adds, eyebrows hunching down across her brow, "And I'll do whatever to let you off the hook forever."

"Did you not hear me, you big doofus? I said that I'd like to stay with you. Very much so. I just need you to… take a step back."

"I can do that."

Ducking my head down to rest against Danny, I'm faced with the handprint Carmilla left on the redhead's neck. They strike an eerie contrast with her pale skin.

I don't hesitate to press my lips against the bruises as softly as I can, my breath hovering over the awfully coloured patches of flesh and I can't find it within myself to stop the tears. Danny's hand finds its way onto the back of my neck and into my hair and I hear her reassuring hum travel through her chest, rumbling like a storm.

"It's okay, Laura," she begins, her voice reverberating as I keep kissing her neck, "Just a few sore spots. Nothing I can't handle."

A small laugh escapes from my mouth in spite of myself, "I know, you're a tough cookie."

"I'd rather see myself as a brave and righteous knight."

"It's just that this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't dragged you into all of this. But of course, my need for sensation and exploration once again proved to be too much to properly handle for anyone, and I wish I wouldn't have asked you to be my six feet tall, amazing, vampire-hunting companion."

She laughs, wrapping her warm arms closer around me, "I never felt happier than when I was your six feet tall, amazing, vampire-hunting companion."

I keep still, fingertips gently trailing across the unharmed side of Danny's neck, feeling her heart beat in her veins and I lean down to kiss the skin again.

"Hey, come on. I mean it," she continues, "I know that you've gotten yourself – and others, for that matter – into a lot of trouble sometimes, and I know that I saved your ass a bunch 'a times, but that doesn't mean that I didn't love every second of it. Because of you I felt like I was doing something, you know? Something good."

"Was it really something good, though?"

"Laura, we've made a major breakthrough in the disappearances of the girls. And I know that you feel bad for Carmilla and all, but we discovered a lot."

"I guess you're right," I sigh, nuzzling my face into Danny's shoulder. She hums in agreement, resting her head against mine. I close my eyes and allow myself to relax, basking in the warmth that Danny is emanating. My hand trails down from her neck onto her chest and I feel the rise and fall of her slow, deep breathing.

Her fingers draw lazy patterns on my arm and though I feel at peace, I need to not try and shove all the blame onto myself.

Because after all, no matter how many times Danny tells me it's not my fault and that it's okay, the gnawing at my heart that tells me it _is _my fault doesn't disappear easily. I'll keep being reminded of it for a while when I look at her neck, when I see the flash of fear in her eyes when she sees Carmilla and I'm not sure I can handle that.

"You better not be worrying about things," Danny quips after a stretch of silence. I roll my eyes but can't prevent a smile from forming.

I prop myself up my elbows and look into the redhead's eyes which are glimmering again like they did before. A rush of affection hurtles through my heart and I capture Danny's smiling lips in a kiss. She holds me closer to her still, strong arms tight against me and I feel like the embrace is a better apology than I could have ever spoken.

She pulls back long enough for me to mumble something along the lines of "I was but not anymore" against her warm lips before she kisses me again, her hands sliding up and down my spine, inducing shivers that pleasantly rack through me.

It is true that my worries melt away like snow in the sun when I'm with her – and especially when her lips are on my own.

The touches are sweet, kisses apologetic and gentle as if they're meant to wash away what happened and start over. I breathe her in, curl my hands in her messy hair and smile against her willing lips, engulf myself in all that is Danny and I feel light, warm, and loved.

"Just promise me you won't lunge at Carmilla with a stake ever again." I tell her when the kiss breaks.

Danny briefly kisses me again, the corners of her twinkling eyes creasing as she pulls back and presses her nose against mine, "I promise."

* * *

><p><em>I love Laura and Danny so much don't lo ok at mE<em>


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